Developing Real Estate Market in Shanghai
Shanghai is the so-called dragonhead at the mouth of the Yangtze River Delta. It is also one of the four directly administered cities with high level of political autonomy without the constraints of any provincial government above her. With the exception of the period between 1949-mid1970’s, Shanghai has always been China’s principal gateway to the world.
The total area of Shanghai is 6340.5 square kilometers. The population of Shanghai at the end of 2002 was 13.3 million with 76.4% as non-agricultural population and the population density of Shanghai was 2104 per square kilometer, which is one of the, if not the, highest among all provinces in China.
Following the major trend of open door policy and economic reforms in late 1970’s, Shanghai was designated by the central government in 1984 to be an open port city to serve as a recipient point for capital investment and technology transfer from developed nations. Due to the leading position of Shanghai in the Yangtze River Delta, it was hoped that the success of expanded economic development in Shanghai would spiral down to the entire Yangtze Delta and eventually to the lower and middle Yangtze Basin.
Until the late 1980, foreign investment and economic developments concentrated mainly on the existing urban core, namely Puxi. But in April 1990, the Shanghai government announced Pudong (eastern part of Shanghai) as a new development zone for a more structured plan to receive investment for infrastructure and economic growth. The new area is si ...